Rubin's political stances have significantly changed over time, beginning with standard American progressive stances to his current Objectivist libertarian stances. When the Rubin Report was on TYT and at the beginning of his independent version of his show after it broke affiliation with TYT, his views were still generally progressive and criticizing decisions being made by big businesses, he publicly criticized National Rifle Association commercials trying to incite fear of the consequences of gun reform laws being planned to be passed by the United States Congress, [3] addressed a decision by McDonalds to remove healthier foods from its menu in a critical manner,[4] on a 2014 episode of TYT he rebuked self-regulation in the economy and claimed that it has never worked[5] and he was supportive of single-payer health insurance (he still claims to be but has said a definition of what that means that is at odds with the conventional definiton). Though at the start of the independent version of his show he began to become sympathetic to those criticizing positions held by figures on the left that he associated with political correctness and as being counter to progressive ideals - Rubin abandoned TYT over his support for the atheist and anti-Islamist public figure Sam Harris who was accused of anti-Muslim bigotry by TYT that Harris and his supporters have rejected.

Over time Rubin largely developed a more right-wing audience supportive of his anti-Social Justice Warrior stances and support of free speech of figures like Harris whose views had clashed with figures on the left. He then completely disassociated with the left and became an Objectivist libertarian (though he still calls himself a "classical liberal"), supporting Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson in the 2016 US Presidential Election and has invited several guests to talk about Ayn Rand 's Objectivist philosophy. Rubin reversed his earlier stance on self-regulation in the economy saying on a 2018 episode of the Joe Rogan Show that he wanted major de-regulation and greater self-regulation. [6] In addition with an ever-expanding devotion to bringing in controversial right-wing figures including those with sympathies to causes of Objectivist-style libertarianism including people with far right views on topics on his show in the name of free speech. One such figure is Stefan Molyneux known for both Objectivist stances as well as reactionary attitudes to women's rights given his openly negative view of women as well as Molyneux's support of racialist perspectives on claims of racial differences in IQ. When he does invite guests on the left now, it is usually only to complain about "regressivism".

More recently, after a period of silence from the TYT show, Ana Kasparian - co-host of TYT has addressed Dave Rubin claiming that he, who had once been her friend, was a 'lazy fraud'. She castigated him for allegedly 'want[ing] to make a six-figure salary to host a 30-minute a week show' despite herself and her colleagues working 12 hour days 'for far less'. She reiterates that he has sold out[7] to corporate America by pointing out that he has received money from the Koch Brothers and alleges that he has no true political identity and denouncing him as not an 'honest actor' nor an 'intellectual' and a 'fraud plain and simple'.

As of September 12, 2017, Rubin's YouTube channel has over 510,000 subscribers and over 120 million channel views.[8] Rubin also makes over $27,000 per month on Patreon from over 4300 patrons,[9] and has over 250,000 followers on Twitter.[2]

Following work in stand-up comedy, Rubin began hosting The Six Pack podcast on SiriusXM and joined TYT in 2013. He first gained notoriety for tacitly defending Israel's conduct during their war in Gaza in 2014, coming in conflict with the entire TYT panel on a 40-minute-long debate[10]. He later repeated this same defense of Israeli war crimes[citation needed] and regurgitating of anti-Palestinian propaganda to Secular Talk[11]. In hindsight, this was our first real look into just how reactionary he always was.

Rubin decided to leave TYT in 2015 following political disagreements with Cenk Uygur.[12] His show bounced between a series of formats and production companies (OraTV being one of them) before becoming an independent project in 2016. He now hosts his show from a "home studio" that looks like one of the fake living rooms in IKEA, and almost exclusively hosts guests with whom he agrees on the topic of "regressivism".

Rubin, who spends much of his time lamenting identity politics, claims to have worked as a stand-up comedian in New York from the late 90s. Little video evidence of this work is available online, besides one video from 'Hot Gay Comics' in which Rubin makes a series of jokes about gays and being gay.[14] Rubin went on to host The Six Pack, a gay-themed podcast with topics such as National Coming Out Day, on SiriusXM[15] and gay guests like Dustin Lance Black and Lance Bass (of NSync fame). But, remember - Rubin is completely against identity politics. Hrm.

Free speech advocate Rubin, who has commented on a culture of "Oppression Olympics"[16] from minority groups and has dismissed numerous controversies as "outrage culture"[17], also posted a video criticising the "gay jokes" in Comedy Central's James Franco roast.[18] This hypocrisy was best surmised when Rubin criticised Hillary Clinton for addressing a tweet to "White America",[19] in spite of the fact that he has previously posted numerous tweets ridiculing people based on their whiteness.[20][21][22][23] Without a trace of self-awareness regarding his own light-hearted jests on the matter, he later lambasted the 'regressive left' and their alleged proclivity to "demonize white people collectively and endlessly".[24]

In spite of being critical of members of the "regressive left" that smear and name-call instead of debating ideas,[25] Rubin reprimands his own opponents via Twitter (his favourite retorts include "loser" and "clown").[26][27]

Rubin threatened to sue Mother Jones author Josh Harkinson for libel over an article titled "Cashing in on the Rise of the Alt-Right", where he is mentioned among various alt-right figures, some of whom (like Mike Cernovich, Lauren Southern, and Milo Yiannopolous) were feature guests on his show.[28] Harkinson later updated the article to include Rubin's objection to the far/alt-right label, in which he says:

Rubin: "Let's do this publicly since that's how you [Harkinson] started it. I'm gay married, pro choice, against death penalty, pro pot legalization. Far right?"[29]

Further evidence of Rubin's lack of commitment to free speech has been highlighted through his siding with the NFL against its players kneeling to protest racism. In this instance he supported barring NFL players from kneeling.[citation needed] He had to be shown by neoconservative shill, David Frum, that indeed free speech extends to a general culture and not merely legal allowance.[citation needed]

Rubin has referred to organisations like the New York Times, CNN, the BBC and USA Today as "fake news",[33][34][35] even claiming that he "won't watch" CNN as long as it employs Reza Aslan.[36] However, Rubin has claimed that Rebel Media is "doing a pretty good job from everything I've seen"[37], appeared on The Alex Jones Show to talk about the "Cult of the Left"[38] and has featured with Tucker Carlson and Bill O'Reilly on Fox News.[39][40] Following O'Reilly's firing from the network amidst a series of sexual harassment allegations, Rubin claimed that "the rejoicing of the destruction of public people is becoming increasingly dangerous".[41]

In an uncharacteristic display of double standards, he had previously joked about progressives Keith Olbermann and Alec Baldwin being fired or suspended from TV networks,[42][43] even going as far as to record himself calling the Capital One customer service line regarding Baldwin's "homophobic" comments[44] and claiming that he had "a discussion with five gay people who all agree to never use [the company's] services again" because of its association with the actor.[45] Free speech, y'know? Quelle surprise - Rubin has been critical of boycotts elsewhere.[46]

"My positions basically haven't changed but I've watched as my team has gone off the deep end", says Rubin on his political ideas.[47] If this is indeed the case, it appears that Rubin has been a conservative the whole time. Case in point, since 2016, Rubin has partnered with Learn Liberty, a project from George Mason University's Institute of Humane Studies, a libertarianthink tank that receives part of its funding from the Koch brothers.[48]

This is particularly true regarding "Rubinomics". In news that will shock nobody, Rubin has frequently espoused conservative positions in regards to taxation and claims that limited government is an issue about which he cares most.[47] He has argued against raises to the minimum wage, claiming that it will force McDonalds to replace workers with iPads, and has been a critic of the estate tax.[49] He has advocated for flat income taxes due to his belief in "real equality", with "some level" of progressive tax.[50] None of these are progressive positions that the Left has suddenly abandoned.

In chastising the "regressive left", Rubin claims that "if you don't evolve the day they evolve, you're a bigot".[12] However, when confronted with evidence of his previous progressive views on Twitter and accused of hypocrisy, Rubin defended himself by stating that "my feelings have changed as time has gone on", asserting that "[p]eople evolve, it's called being human. But some would rather attack" without a hint of irony.[51][52] So it seems that the real rule is "if you don't evolve the day Dave Rubin evolves, you're a regressive".

Rubin also thinks he supports single-payer health care. We say "think" because Rubin thinks single-payer is a combination of public and private.[53] He has doubled-down on this misunderstanding/ignorance of what single-payer actually is.[54]

However recently it seems he's given up on claiming he's for single-payer, judging by a twitter post in which he bemoaned the Canadian healthcare system and asking "Why do you need the government to force you to do it?"[55]

In recent years, Rubin's show has become a platform for relatively obscure individuals from far-flung corners of the Internet to espouse bizarre or downright extreme opinions with little to no recourse or push-back from the host. For instance, claims from guests that the Canadian Nazi Party was "backed up and egged on" by Jewish groups to increase hate crimes and suggestions that Barack Obama is a communist have gone unchallenged by Rubin.[56][57] While claiming to be (or have been) liberal, he rarely seems able to explain his positions. For example, he mistakenly believed that Bernie Sanders wanted to raise taxes to 90% and yet still claimed to intend to vote for him (despite being fiscally libertarian). When interviewing Milo Yiannopoulos, his reasoning for supporting Sanders was "he seems like a nice person." [58]

Whilst decrying the so-called "regressive left" at every turn, Rubin has described guest Tommy Robinson, the former head of the far-right English Defence League with a string of violent and non-violent criminal convictions to his name, as "extremely moderate".[59] Rubin has taken to Twitter to complain that his YouTube videos have been demonetized and his Amazon affiliation deactivated[60][61]; it's almost as if advertisers and corporations want nothing to do with a show that allows ideologues to spout egregious views and get away with it scot-free.

Rubin is notorious for asking a series of big names onto his show through direct tweets. Many individuals ranging from the political sphere - Donald Trump,[62]Hillary Clinton,[63] Ivanka Trump,[64] Kellyanne Conway,[65]Bernie Sanders,[66] - to the celebrity world - Cher,[67] Carrie Fisher (RIP),[68] Betty White,[69] Howard Stern,[70] Azealia Banks,[71] Ben Affleck[72] - have been invited in this manner. Shockingly, none of these high profile people have taken up the invitation to appear on a low-rent YouTube show recorded at someone's house and, despite Rubin's best efforts, the vast majority of his guests are fringe characters from niche corners of the internet (or even - in possibly his most narcissistic move yet - the show's own fans).[73][74][75][76][77]

Milo Yiannopoulos - His occasional partner-in-crime. Rubin has teamed up with the former on his "Dangerous Faggot" tour and was even featured in an episode of his webshow when he was still at Breitbart.